Wonderland
by The Baterelle
Summary: Naruto has always sacrificed for Sakura, but in a twisted and ancient Wonderland, he gives her the ultimate sacrifice. He is her savior, her hero.//NaruxSakuONESHOT&TRAGEDY.//


**D**ISCLAIMER; No, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters from the anime/manga. (Sadly!)

**A**uthor's Note;; So yeah, I couldn't fall asleep. And recently, I've gotten back into Naruto again. Yes.. I had become detached and less addicted. Unbelievable?! I know! I was too caught up in my sports and various hobbies. Bahh, lamee.

Anyway, this fanfiction is a little dark, but I basically used only emotion. I haven't spent much time practicing on my writing style, but I tried to make it flow nicely.

_R&R_, ayy? :D

**--x--**

"Naruto! Stop!"

"Don't follow me, Sakura."

"Naruto, are you insane.. you baka, you're going to end up getting yourself-"

"I said don't follow me!"

Sakura swore under her breath, raising a white hand to her eyes. She squinted, unable to see Naruto through the beating sheet of crystalic drops. This rain was aggrivating. The last she saw of Naruto was a flash of his orange jumpsuit, and a glimpse of his soaked blonde hair.

What was wrong with him? Why would he run off after those people?

They were extremely dangerous, and having been separated from the rest of their group, they were vulnerable.

But no. The idiot had to chase after them with his brows stitched together and a determined look on his face.

How she wanted to find him and slap him. Or maybe even hug him.

Whoa, whoa.. _hug him_?! Where'd that come from?

She scolded herself. But she couldn't help but worry about him. Afterall, he was a moron when it came to judgement.

The trees were a deep green, the bark dead and rotting. There was little grass, but the place seemed to have a black-green aura about it. It was positively eerie, and she did not like it one bit.

What Sakura wanted the most at the moment was to go home, take a hot bath, and go back to sleep. But instead she was chasing after Naruto who was chasing after phantoms.

There were hostile people about, but technically, even though they knew it, they had not seen them. Only glimpses. It was like the strangers were shrouded in darkness, and she was sure Naruto was taunted by it.

He had become intent on finding them, ripping their invisibility from them and burying his strong fists into their undetermined faces.

But Sakura wasn't so sure anymore. She wasn't sure of anything.

Lady Tsunade had summoned many Shinobis to track the intruders, but no one besides Naruto had seen them. She had heard noises, though. Shuffling in the dead leaves, whispers in the dark, even seen indistinguished shadows lurking in the dour trees. Because of the constant rain in these parts, it made it harder to track people, to follow their footsteps. They were like ghosts, haunting Naruto's mind and plaguing his sanity.

She was sure he had finally cracked.

"Naruto!" She shouted through the roaring rain, "Where are you? Come back!"

She heard him reply, but his voice was extremely faint and the words were unintelligible. It made her feel queasy being so far away from anyone, running about in a dying forest, screaming for a boy who was chasing ghosts.

Once again, she imagined going home and taking a hot bath. That seemed to relax her shaking nerves, but not for long.

Out of the corner of her jade irises, she thought she saw a shadow. It was cat-like without a face, moving about in a silent pantomime, mocking her confusion.

She was too shocked to speak. Either she was having delusions, or there was someone there.

They were hiding beneath the bits of tattered leaves, gloating in the orange-tinged shadows that surrounded it. She couldn't exactly tell where it's beginning, nor ending, was. It was like a shapeless, sex-less shadow that lurked mysteriously. Dangerously.

And it sent disturbed vibes all the way up her spine.

She shuddered back the feeling, and furrowed her brows. Her pink hair was so wet it was like a mop, hanging in her pale face, swinging in front of her green eyes.

The 'thing' was gone, and she wasn't sure whether she was more scared when she could see it, or not. Both concepts were ideally frightening, but she swallowed back her fears.

She figured they were nonexistent and self-inflicted. And then she felt stupid for psychoanalyzing herself.

"Naruto!" She shouted before she licked the sky's teardrops from her pink lips.

She scowled. What was that baka doing running into the forest like a madman. He was obviously mad.

In fact, _everything_ seemed mad.

The branches of the trees hung over like arms cascaded in the darkness. The dead surroundings gave it a cemetary-like quality, and the rain made the air musky and sour. She could feel her sandals slide in the mud as she ran, could feel her dress turning tearing and ripping. It was like a nightmare. She wasn't even sure where Naruto had run to.

She groaned inwardly, thinking to herself that when she came across that animalistic face with his lop-sided grin, and glowing blue irises, that she was going to punch him right in the mouth. And enjoy it.

But at the moment, she was too cold and bedraggled to worry about that. She would meddle herself with that whenever she was not a dripping puddle, nearly sinking into the soggy ground's pool of mud.

That was when everything seemed to spin in circles. Literally. She heard the tear of soft flesh, the crack of bone, felt herself falling, falling.

And the most insane thing occured to her that she very much felt like Alice in Wonderland at that moment.

She fell in a hole. Well, not just a hole. Apparently, the place they were at was pretty much an ancient forest, and in the ancient forest, there were ancient booby-traps.

And she happened to stumble into one.

She sat up, trying to clear her vision, squinting into the darkness. But it was so dark that she couldn't make an outline of anything.

Grumbling angrily, she scolded herself for being such a clumsy idiot. Of course, it was pitch dark and rainy and muddy and she couldn't see anything. And it wasn't exactly like she knew the ground was going to give away into some creepy catacomb-like place.

"I'm going to kill Naruto", She said with a scowl, and began standing up. But fell back immediately onto her backside, feeling a searing pain in her ankle.

She had broken it, and she was torn between a feeling of screaming, and a feeling of crying.

"I'm seriously going to kill him", She declared, blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face, "First I'll break _HIS_ ankle so he knows what it feels like! What a ass. Running after nothing and leaving me to follow him. He expects me to be a master tracker. How the hell am I supposed to find him in THIS weather. Stupid son of a.."

She continued rambling on about her bad luck, but stopped abruptly.

The catlike shadow was invading her again, taunting her with eyes she couldn't see. She was sure it was smiling wickedly at her, or maybe even worse, not doing anything. She wasn't sure which was creepier. And she was really sick of this feeling of uncertainty.

It slinked across from her, and she still was unable to figure out what it was.

Her imagination was running wild. First it went to the idea of the Mad-Hatter, or the Cheshire Cat. And then to a demon and then to nothing.

She frowned in the darkness at her stupid guesses. She really was going mad.

She gripped the muddy wall, her fingers sliding through the dirt. She felt blind and defenseless, her broken ankle throbbing as she struggled to stand up even half-way. Teetering, she trained her eyes on the shape even though she could hardly see anything. She half expected her voice to waver, but it was strong and sounded not even a tiny bit afraid.

Which she wasn't, anymore. She was curious. Curious about the phantom that was following her, and curious what it looked like. But she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know. Plus, she had a different theory.

"Naruto?"

It didn't respond, but stood - or sat, or whatever it was doing - very still. It made no noise, left no odor, but was as invisible as wind in this darkness, as quiet as air.

"Naruto, I know it's you", She lied, "Is this your idea of a practical joke?"

It said nothing, making no noise, showing no sign of life.

Sakura sighed and frowned to herself. She was glad that it wasn't Naruto because he wouldn't leave her alone about her stupidity for awhile. She would have to endure some teasing, possibly.

It was nothing. Nothing but a slight of insanity that was plaguing her mind, probing into her psyche.

She began to stumble forward, gripping the sides of the slippery mud wall, her fingernails digging into roots and rocks.

She hated this feeling, this blind, blind, scared feeling.

Sakura was certain that the shadow wasn't real, and that it was only her imagination. But that was when it moved.

And she moved after it.

And then she realized how insane she must be. She was about to act like Naruto, chasing after fleeting ghosts, running after mysterious phantoms.

"Sakura!"

Oh, no.

She assumed it to be another illusion, but his voice sounded so close, so very near to her.

And she felt his steady hand push her back, heard a sickening sound and saw a ray of light glow through the catacombs.

"You're safe.."

She could practically hear his crooked smile forming in the dark, could feel his eyes lazily droop.

Sakura let her fingers slide over her face and feel the warm drops on her. But this was a sticky, wet, substance, unlike that of the clear easy rain.

"No! Naruto!" She screamed, still gripping the side of the shifting walls.

She heard the thud of his body, still feeling the wet liquid all over her's.

"Get up, damnit, get up!" She said hysterically, feeling her chest tighten, her breath hitch.

"Why're ya yelling, Sakura", Naruto groaned gently.

"Where are you, Naruto?" She asked the darkness, fumbling in the lack of light. "Answer me, you baka! Answer me!"

He did not answer.

She fell on her knees, running her fingers through the mud, searching for his silent body.

And she saw it move. The shadow shifted through the blackness, but this time she could make it out as a person. A tall person, with thick, spiky hair, and a slender build.

"I think he's dead", It said, it's voice as eerie as it's before-shapeless body.

"He's not."

"But he is, dear." The voice was a man's. His voice was soft, his tone silky and attractive. Almost alluring. But she found herself hating him.

"He can't die.."

"Aw, poor thing. In a state of denial. Don't worry, my dear, I was planning on killing you first before he so rudely interrupted."

"You didn't do anything for such a long time.."

"Not being able to distinguish me from the darkness was making you insane. It was amusing."

Sakura didn't reply. She tried to make out his features, but he still seemed so phantom-like, his long arms dangling at his side.

"If you were wondering how, I used a jutsu. One that you will never know of." He laughed, a beautiful, melodic sound.

"You didn't kill him."

"You know, I really think you were going crazy. Poor thing, stumbling around in the dark."

"He's alive."

"You see, I've spent most of my life underground. I can be invisible to you, make you see things. The realist part of you denies it, and the fear burns images into your mind.."

"Naruto isn't dead."

"You're not a very sociable person, are you? All you keep doing is repeating the same thing. I hate to tell you differently, but he's dead.."

"No.."

"Now tell me, now that you know that your boyfriend is dead, are you scared of dying?"

"..."

"Are you scared of being unable to see what kills you?"

"You're insane."

"And so are you.. we're very much alike, you and I. Only you're terrified, and I'm the one terrifying you."

"If you think you're terrifying me, then you're very stupid."

"And you're a terrible liar."

She felt his chest against her back, his fingers wrapped around her mud-caked wrists. She was afraid, but she wouldn't ever tell him that.

"You're shaking."

"Get off of me."

"But fear is so beautiful.. and this is such a sad circumstance.. you and your lover dying as blind as when you were in the womb. It's so pretty, don't you think? Makes for a lovely Romeo and Juliet story."

He was crazy, she was sure of that. Crazy and demented and sadistic. But she mostly found herself thinking of Naruto, of his golden tousled hair, his happy smile, his striking eyes. He gave his life for her. He died for her. Somehow he knew that she was about to be killed, and he saved her. She felt like crying, and hugging his cold body, but she didn't know where it was, and that only saddened her more. It made her lips dry and her eyes burn.

"You're thinking about something. What is it you're pondering?"

She didn't respond, only flinched away from his touch.

"Don't be so rude, now. Tell me."

"I'd rather not."

"Fine, then. I just wanted to understand you. You are a very peculiar creature, you know. But not so different, because you are afraid, just like everyone else in the world would be. You can't beat me."

He was no longer holding her wrists, and she was unable to tell where he was at. It was maddening. The darkness, the mud, the broken ankle, the sobs that she continued to choke back inside of her throat. Every bit of it.

"I'm sorry you had to endure such a Wonderland these past few months, but that's what happens, you see. We are all mad in one way or another."

She felt his blow to her chest, heard the snap of her other ankle. She could feel herself falling down into the gentle mud, could feel his foot on her throat as her body was splayed out in an awkward position.

Sakura heard the sound of blood splattering against the running mud, felt it's warmness on her face and breasts.

She was certain that she was dead as she stared into blackness. Silence. Pure, antagonizing emptiness.

But she wasn't dead. She was alive.

"What the hell..", She wondered aloud, staring straight ahead.

And then she heard a grunt from that of a reckognizable voice, and then harsh coughing.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked hopefully, but she was unable to move, her limbs broken and shattered from the phantom shinobi.

"Hey." The greeting was familiar and warm to her ears.

"I knew you didn't die", She said surpressing a smile.

"Me? Die? Never." He said hoarsely, which was followed by another fit of violent coughing.

"Naruto..?"

"Hn?"

"Is he.. is he.." For some reason, even though she was typically used to death, she could not say the word dead. It was like she if she did, her lips would burn from invisible flames.

"Yeah, Sakura. Did he hurt you", He paused, coughing again, "really bad?"

"Nah, not really. Are you alright? You sound like you really need medical attention.."

"I'm good." He said warmly.

She didn't believe him. He kept coughing violently, and she was sure he was spitting up blood. Though because of the darkness of the hole, she was still unable to tell where he was at, only that he was sort of close. His voice was faint and dying; his breathing turning into gasps for air.

"Naruto? Naruto!" Sakura shouted weakly.

"Hey, don't yell so much", He grumbled.

"Naruto, you stay with me, do you understand?"

"Hai, Sakura. I'm not goin' anywhere."

"Anywhere. Nowhere. And don't you dare close your eyes."

"Okay.."

His voice was dimming again.

"Naruto!" She shouted frantically, and propped herself up with her elbows. They dug deep into the murkiness, a musky smell rising through the air. "Naruto, talk to me."

He didn't respond, and she couldn't hear him breathing.

"God dammnit, Naruto, talk to me." She said firmly, steadying herself with her elbows, dragging her body with her forearms. "Naruto? Naruto?"

Her eyes searched the darkness desperately, but she couldn't make out his body. "Naruto, where are you?" Her voice was become ragged, choked by sobs that were threatening to explode from her.

But she couldn't find him. Couldn't hear him. And something inside of her was telling her that he was gone.

But she couldn't stop herself from talking to him.

"You know, Naruto," She began softly, "I used to think you were the village idiot. But.. you changed my opinion. A long time ago, actually. You sacrifice so much for people, Naruto. So much for me. And if I'd never gone loopy and fallen in Wonderland, this wouldn't have happened to you."

She felt her cheeks become warm with running tears, and continued on, a smile forming on her lips, "When we first met, I thought, 'This kid is so stupid.' But you're not. You're brave and if it wasn't for you, a lot of people would be dead. Naruto, I think I loved you. You were always the person who saved me, you know. You were my hero."

**--x--**

**E**nd Author's Note;  
Yeah, so, this was kind of intense. I described their feelings more than the scenery and gore, and it was more so in Sakura's POV than anyone else's, but..

I really want to know what you all think of this.

So please review, and feel free to critique me all you want. I could use the help! (:


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